The Two-Way

3:02 pm

Sun August 10, 2014

Turkey's Erdogan Wins First Direct Presidential Election

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan waves to the crowd in Istanbul on Sunday. He said the Turkish people had "shown their will" in electing him president.

Osman OrsalReuters/Landov

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won Turkey's first-ever direct presidential election, with an unofficial 53 percent of the vote.

Opposition candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu conceded defeat in elections, offering congratulations to Erdogan in a brief statement to reporters in Istanbul.

AP reports:

"With 93.7 percent of ballot boxes opened, Erdogan was ahead with 53.05 percent of the vote, the count by the state-run Anadolu news agency showed. Erdogan's main rival, [Ihsanoglu,] was shown at 37.81 percent and the third candidate, [Kurdish candidate] Selahattin Demirtas, at 9.14 percent.

" 'The people showed their will at the polls today,' Erdogan said in a brief speech before thousands of supporters in Istanbul Sunday evening, but stopped short of declaring victory."

It's the first time in Turkey's history that the president has been chosen by popular vote. An estimated 53 million of the country's 76 million eligible voters cast ballots.